


Remorse of a Witch

by Gojiratheking106



Series: Changes and Second Chances [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: A bit of Lumity as a treat, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I mean probably lol, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Agony of a Witch, Redemption, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gojiratheking106/pseuds/Gojiratheking106
Summary: Lilith realizes Belos has used her and now struggles with her loyalty. Meanwhile, Luz organizes one of the most unstable rescue missions ever.
Series: Changes and Second Chances [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941220
Comments: 37
Kudos: 235





	1. Aftermath

“Well, I see you made good on your promise” Emperor Belos sat down on his throne, the Titan’s heartbeats echoing through the throne room. “I must say, I am impressed. I didn’t imagine you’d be so ruthless.”

Lilith winced, still kneeling down and looking at the floor. What was once her sister screeched behind her, trying to break free from its bounds.

“And now, a promise is a promise.” Belos stretched his metallic gauntlet, and one of his assistants sprinted across the room, holding a bottle with a golden liquid. “The cure of your sister’s curse.” The Emperor grabbed the bottle, and handed it to Lilith. However, before she could take it he withdrew. “However, you didn’t tell me this was the curse’s effect.” Lilith looked at Belos for the first time, visibly shaken. “My lord, I don’t-”

Belos got up from his seat, prompting Lilith to stop talking and lower her gaze again. The Isles’ ruler slowly walked over to the Owl Beast, and closely looked at her. The creature roared and snapped at him, but couldn’t reach him. “This would make a magnificent war beast.” Belos turned around, facing Lilith. “Don’t worry Lilith, I  _ will  _ heal her in due time. But for now, I shall test her new form.” And with that, Belos turned to one of his assistants, who quickly ran to him and took the bottle. “Take it to the Potion Storage.” Belos ordered, and the underling quickly bowed and left.

“You’re dismissed, Lilith.” The witch quickly jumped up and faced Belos “But my Lord, I-”

Belos didn’t move an inch. “I said, dismissed.” The female witch opened her mouth to complain, but didn’t dare to say a word. Instead, she bowed her head and left, the heartbeat and her sister’s roars invading her ears until she finally crossed the gates. As soon as they closed, she punched the wall with a scream, then covered her face with her free hand. Tears started to form in her eyes. What did just happen? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down, Belos was going to heal Edalyn, she’d join the coven, they’d be together again. Did he… Did he trick her? “No… No, he wouldn’t do that. He can’t.” She tried to convince herself.

“Surely, there must be a reason for this. He did mention great plans for the Isles. Maybe Edalyn is part of that.” She reasoned “He must need her like this to bring peace, then when his plan is realized he will heal her and everything will go back to the way it used to be.” Yes, that must be it, her sister would be safe. After all, Belos had said he would heal her ‘in due time’. She took a deep breath. Yes, everything was going to be alright. But then… Why did it feel so wrong?

.

King’s little paws clacked against the Owl House’s wooden floor. Luz had arrived a few hours prior, completely devastated, and the only thing she had told Hooty and him was that “Eda is gone”, and she had barely been able to utter those words. He needed to know. Finally, the dog-demon reached Luz’s room, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Luz?”. Nothing, a heavy silence that crept into his bones. King briefly looked around and sighed. “I’m coming in”. He opened the door, and there was where he found Luz. She was inside her sleeping bag, sitting down in what she had described as ‘burrito mode’. Her black hood was the only thing indicating that she was still wearing her Hexside uniform. She stayed silent.

King hesitated, looking down at his toe claws, before deciding to walk up to her. “Luz?” He repeated, now side by side with the human. He was merely answered with a groan and Luz turning around to avoid facing him. King sighed and sat down. He was a demon, the King of Demons at that! He didn’t know how to console someone, what was he supposed to do? If only Eda was there, she’d know what to say.

“It’s my fault.” Luz finally whimpered. King looked at her in surprise. “I was reckless and now she’s gone because of me”. Luz’s voice cracked when saying that. King got up and jumped on Luz’s shoulder, dangling his torso right besides Luz’s face, she loved when he did that. However, the face King saw wasn’t the Luz he knew, the Luz he knew was cheerful and optimistic. This Luz looked utterly broken, eyes red from crying for who knows how long. King quickly pulled himself back up, now sitting down on the human’s shoulder, and finally dared to speak. “What happened?”

Luz finally looked at him. “I- I went to the Emperor’s castle on a school trip. I tried to get the magic healing hat for Eda but Lilith showed up and captured me and used me as bait then Eda showed up and fought Lilith but ran out of magic so she… She…” She had gradually spoken faster and faster with each word to the point where the last part was barely understandable, and then her voice had completely cracked, then she started sobbing again. “I was the reason she came to the castle and fought Lilith”, she managed to say, still bawling her eyes out, “I was the bait and she’s  _ gone.  _ She’s gone because I-” Before she could finish the sentence, something stuck to her face. Something fluffy. King was hugging her  _ face _ .

“I’m not the one to comfort but I know Eda. She’ll come back, somehow.” He said. Luz grabbed him, and looked at him, she had stopped crying, but it looked like she would snap back any second. Then, she hugged him, squeezing him against her chest as if he was a teddy bear. Then, something coiled around them. Hooty. And the tears came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you liked it, leave a kudo if so! I forgot what the original title was gonna be so this will do for now I guess.


	2. Broken Bird, Free Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith makes a decision that might lead her towards a new path. Meanwhile, Luz has guests.

Lilith slowly walked down the stairs leading to the castle’s catacombs. The silence was deafening, her footsteps were the only thing producing any kind of sound whatsoever. She passed several different doors, each leading to a different level of the dungeon, she knew her sister was a lot more deep down. Finally, after what had seemed like forever, she reached the lowest floor, a wooden gate with two guards guarding it right in front of her.

“I wish to see a prisoner.”

The two guards nodded, and stepped aside. Lilith took a deep breath, summoned a light with her staff and opened the door. She crossed the doorstep, and the gate closed behind her. The sound awakened the various beasts and palismans kept in the level, but Lilith ignored them and headed right ahead, to the biggest cell. Its iron bars were extremely thick and probably magically reinforced, with a locked gate for access. The cell itself was rather large, with enough space to hold a slitherbeast. The floor was covered with a thick layer of hay, but Lilith couldn’t quite tell how deep it went, as her staff didn’t give off enough light. 

Lilith stared into the cell’s darkness until two dark, unthinking eyes locked on her. What was once Eda stared at her like a predator eyeing its next meal, and slowly approached the witch. The beast growled, undoubtedly recognizing Lilith as its —her, it was still Eda, Belos would heal her— captor. Did she remember anything about her past? About being an outlaw? The curse? About… Lilith? The Owl Beast screeched at Lilith, as if answering the witch’s inner question, but then laid down with a growl. Lilith sighed.

“Why, Edalyn? Why did you have to be so stubborn? So reckless? So…” ‘You’, she wanted to say. Lilith sighed again, and sat down right besides the cell, her back against the stone wall. “Belos will heal you, and everything will be as it should have always been. You and I.” Eda huffed. “Why, why didn’t you listen? I gave you plenty of opportunities!” The sudden yelling surely startled Eda, who jumped with a hiss, back arched like a cat and mane puffed up like… Well, like an owl. “Now look at you, all of this for… For your human pet?” Lilith closed her fist, she was shaking. “You turned your back on your real family, gave up your own sapience, your magic, your  _ soul _ , for that thing you accidentally dragged into our world!” She got up and faced Eda again, yelling those last words. Eda roared at her and lunged forwards, but the bars stopped her. “Maybe this is what you deserve.”

And with that, Lilith turned around, chin high in the air and started to leave. However, not even four steps in and she stopped, tears starting to manifest. “I-” Before she could even start, a hoot interrupted her. Lilith looked around, until she spotted a bird cage. Inside of it, Edalyn’s palisman. If her sister couldn’t be brought back, that little bird of prey would be one of the last things left of her. That is, unless Belos decided to feed on its magic essence.

Maybe that’s why a tiny voice in her head told her to get closer. Told her to apologize to the poor thing. Told her to open the cage. Told her to ask the little owl to sneak out when she opened the door, to fly away, to return to the Owl House. It felt like something was controlling her, like she wasn’t fully conscious, and first thing she knew she was watching the little bird fly away from one of the castle’s multiple balconies.

.

“Hoot hoot, you’ve got visitors!” Hooty’s usual smile quickly faded and turned into concern, seeing that Luz was still inside her sleeping bag after an entire day. The latina simply groaned and hid her face.

“Hi Luz” a female voice said behind her, as her room’s door slowly opened. Willow. “We came as soon as we could” a male voice continued. Gus. Luz heard her friends’ footsteps approaching her from behind, and then saw both of them sit on her right and left side respectively. “What happened?” Asked Willow.

“Eda is gone. It’s my fault.” Willow and Gus looked at each other.

“Luz, don’t say that, it’s not tru-”

Luz looked at Willow, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “It is, you were there when I was captured. You were used for sending Eda the message. You know what happened.”

Gus touched her shoulder and gave her the warmest smile possible “Yeah, we were there when you sneaked around the castle on your own and almost got that hat, all to save Eda! You faced the wrath of the Emperor himself!”

The human simply answered with a sigh. Willow and Gus shared a concerned look, they had never seen Luz like this. Had never  _ imagined  _ Luz could be like this. “Yeah, I did do all of that. And for what? It was all fake, Lilith said it herself. If I had stayed with the group, nothing would’ve happened in the first place. She would still be here.”

Another set of footsteps, this time much slower, approached her from behind. It didn’t sound like King’s tiny footsteps, and it surely wasn’t  _ Hooty _ . But, then, who could it be?

“Hey, Luz” The latina’s eyes widened. That voice… She turned around, quick as lightning, and saw her. Amity Blight’s golden eyes were looking at her, visibly concerned. Her right foot wasn’t in a cast anymore, but it was evident she was still not fully healed, not many 14 year olds use canes of all things.

To say Luz jumped wouldn’t make it justice. She  _ pounced _ on Amity, who was barely able to keep her footing. Next thing the witch knew, Luz was hugging her with enough strength she could’ve sworn her leg wasn’t her only broken bone. And by the way Willow was looking at them, Amity’s face must have been red as a ripe tomato, to say the least.

“They took Eda” Luz wept into Amity’s shoulder. “They used me as bait and forced Eda to use up her magic and-” she kept talking, but it was just unintelligible wailing. Amity took a deep breath and gently pushed Luz away, breaking the hug but keeping her hands firmly on the human’s shoulders. Then, Amity looked at Luz straight in the eye.

“Hey, come on. You are the human that learned how to do magic, the human that made a house walk, the human that defeated Grometheus! You are Luz! You have done things none of us would even dare to try! Now calm down, and tell me what happened, okay?”

Luz wiped her tears and nodded, then proceeded to explain. Explain how Eda’s curse had gotten worse, how she tried to… borrow the Emperor’s healing hat, how Lilith captured her, how she used her as bait, how she captured Eda. As Luz’s explanation continued, Amity’s expression slowly shifted from a confident smile to concern, and then to sheer fear.

“It’s not like I can save her… I don’t even know where they’re holding her” Luz finally said, lowering her gaze. Then, something started tapping on the room’s closed window. Willow and Gus stepped aside to let Luz walk over there, and when the human opened it her eyes shone with happiness for the first time in more than a day. “Owlbert!”

The tiny bird quickly flew in with a happy hoot and landed on Luz’s shoulder. “How did you even get here?!” Luz asked with a chuckle, which absolutely made Amity’s day. “Wait. Owlbert, do you know where Eda is?!” The human asked, quickly grabbing Owlbert and placing him in front of her face. The tiny bird nodded. The biggest smile in the Boiling Isles grew in Luz’s face, who then turned around to look at her friends. “Guys! He knows where Eda is! We can save her!”

Willow and Gus gave her a smile. They tried to help her steal ancient relics, surely they’d join in the rescue mission. But Amity didn’t look that convinced. The green haired witch averted her gaze, and rubbed the back of her neck. “Luz, that’s great, but… I can’t.”

“Why?” The sound of betrayal in her voice hurt Amity to her core.

“Well, even if my parents are taking me to a healer and my leg is better, it’d take a week or two to fully heal…”

“But we can wait!” Luz said, almost begging. Then Amity saw the realization in her eyes. “It’s because you still want to join the Emperor’s Coven, isn’t it”

“Luz, I-”

“No, it’s fine.” Amity’s soul sank. What did Luz just say? “I get it. Joining the Emperor’s Coven is your dream, and the highest you can get on the Isles. I’m just a stupid human who shouldn’t even be here ruining things. I understand.”

Willow quickly looked at Amity, who was visibly shaken. The poor girl was on the verge of  _ crying _ . “That’s not true!” Amity suddenly yells, hands in the air and face completely red. “You’re not stupid, and you aren’t ruining anything! You’re brave, you’re funny, you’re strong, you’re smart and so much more! Luz, I-” Amity’s face turned completely red for a moment and she bit her tongue.  _ Not now _ . The witch sighed. “I will help you, okay?”

Luz’s eyes lit up in a way that Amity could not resist. “You will?” Amity nodded, walked up to Luz and put her hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Yes. I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the second chapter! I may have made Luz's part much longer than Lilith's, lol. Also, enjoy some Lumity tease! Leave a kudo if you liked it!


	3. The Final Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The breakout is gonna be a two parter because this is just the Lilith POV and I've already reached over 1K words lmao. Honestly I feel it's weaker than the others but I hope you'll like it anyways.

A week had passed. An entire week since Eda’s capture, and Belos hadn't even considered doing anything about the curse. Lilith’s patience was starting to run out, and with it her loyalty. And the nightmares, oh by the Titan the nightmares, every single night a different nightmare but they were all terrible. She could vividly remember the last one.

Eda and her were both in the Coven, doing some training exercises. They had been having fun, and they were together. Then the sparring room had turned pitch black, and cold. Edalyn had been on her knees, crying, her hands covering her face. Lilith had tried to reach out, but couldn’t move.

“How could you do this?!” Edalyn had asked, face still obscured. “I was a child!”

Lilith had wanted to reply, to explain. It wasn’t meant to be permanent, it was supposed to be for one day, it was so she could join the coven. Then she would’ve figured out a way to let Edalyn in. But she couldn’t speak, she had been forced to listen to her sister’s wails.

“You were my older sister! You were supposed to protect me! To care for me! And you turned me into a monster!” That last word had come mixed with a screech as Eda vanished into dust. Then a snarl had sounded behind her “You cursed me! You turned me into an outcast! You forced me to hide! You captured me like a mere trophy! You put me in a cage! You tried to kill my  _ human _ ! You are not my sister, you’re a monster” And then, she had heard a screech and she had woken up.

That was definitely the worst nightmare she had in her life, and the worst part is that dream Edalyn was right. She was a monster. The mere memories of that dream caused the pale witch to bend over and cry her heart out. What had she done? What was she going to do?

Lilith took a deep breath to try and calm down, clear her thoughts. The Emperor knows best, she had always said, he has a perfect plan for everyone. He talked to the Titan, he was the Titan’s will. But not even that convinced her. No, she had to act. But she was the head of the coven, she had to be careful.

Then she realized. Eda’s human! Surely, she would be planning something by now. Maybe Lilith could help out. And so she casted a spell, and a little abomination rose up, it was barely noticeable. The perfect spy. Lilith grinned, and handed it a tiny amulet. “Abomination, contact me through this. Don’t miss anything.” The tiny creature nodded. “Good. Now Abomination, go find Luz the human”.

The diminutive golem nodded and quickly ran out. Lilith sighed, running her fingers through her head, and fell down on her bed, what was she doing? Would she really betray the Emperor? The Coven? But they betrayed her in the first place, abandoning Edalyn as a mindless beast. She had kept visiting her sister, hoping that the healing ritual had started while she was out and she’d find some semblance of her little sister inside that beast, but it never happened. Lilith’s unquestioning loyalty had its limits, and Belos had crossed it.

The head of the Emperor’s Coven sat down on her desk and took a golden hand mirror. The amulet started to send a video, showing that the abomination had already entered the forest. Lilith grinned, her magic was still top notch. The tiny golem finally reached the Owl House in around two hours, luckily Kikimora didn’t barge in, it must have been a slow day. The abomination managed to sneak in through a window, and found Luz. There were three witches with her, the two kids from the school trip and… Amity Blight

Lilith winced, a feeling of betrayal forming in her chest. How could she? Amity was her top student, her personal apprentice. She shook her head, no, the kid was doing the right thing. She was helping Edalyn too. The Clawthorne listened closely, apparently they were finishing up their plan. Turns out Amity had some highly detailed imitations of the coven’s armor at home —the human kept calling them “cosplays”—, and coupled with the younger witch —Augustus was his name, apparently—’s illusion magic they’d sneak into the castle, Owlbert would guide them to Eda’s cell where Amity’s abomination would break Edalyn out and then Willow would bind her with vines.

Lilith leaned back, pitching the bridge of her nose. It was a good plan, but it wasn’t good enough. Edalyn was too wild for that, she would know after an entire week trying to get to her sister. And there was Belos. He saw everything that happened in the castle, there was no way they’d get past him. Unless… he couldn’t see.

Lilith snapped her fingers, in an uncharacteristic moment of pure glee. She knew about a sleeping potion strong enough to subdue even the most dangerous and powerful witches in the Isles. She should know, that’s how she made sure Edalyn wouldn’t wake up while she cursed her. But this time it would be different, she’d use it for good.

Lilith quickly hid her hand mirror, which was still showing the kids planning Edalyn’s breakout, and walked out of her room. The hallway had a few guards that saluted her as she went down the labyrinthine fortress until she finally reached a pair of gigantic gates. Anyone not familiar with the castle would think that’s the Emperor’s room, but it was in fact the kitchen. Lilith opened them, and she found a whole army of cooks inside frantically walking around with all kinds of utensils and dishes.

An enormous lizard person, at least 8 feet tall and with the muscular width to match, approached her. The creature had ember eyes staring right at Lilith’s soul, and a golden fang poking out of its jaw. The head cook. “Miss Lilith, what do we owe the pleasure of having you here?” she asked.

“Oh, I’d like to prepare a potion for our Emperor. I’ve recently found a recipe in our library that could greatly strengthen his highness' magical power. I’d wager he’d be happy to try it, and he’d rather have me prepare it. No offense to your crew.”

The titanic lizard woman laughed so loudly Lilith felt her very body shake, before getting a scaly slap on the shoulder that almost threw her off her feet. “No offense taken! You know where to find your stuff, miss Lilith.” The witch gave her a weak smile before heading off to the very end of the kitchen, where she could work undisturbed. There she took a rather large cauldron for herself and started mixing different ingredients, always keeping her guard up in case anyone decided to chime in. 

After she was done she poured the liquid in a rather large bowl, then quickly got some into a small vial she hid inside her large sleeves. She took the hand mirror out for a brief second to check on the children. They were almost there, she had to hurry. Lilith turned around and zeroed in on a cook. “You! You shall take this to the Emperor, it’s of utmost importance!” The tiny cook nodded and quickly took the bowl to the throne room. Lilith sighed in relief, and quickly rushed to the cells. 

The guards barely had any time to greet her or ask for her intentions, although they were very aware she was visiting Edalyn again, as the black flurry of a woman sped past them and into the catacombs.

“Edalyn? It’s me” She said, still holding hope. But what greeted her was the massive beast that had haunted her dreams for so long. The creature roared, opening its wings. Lilith looked down, taking the vial out of her sleeve. “You are not going to like this, but you will thank me in due time. You will be able to thank me. I promise” And so, a blue bubble encased Eda’s body, only leaving her head free. The owl creature roared and hissed, trying to break out, and in one of those screeches Lilith managed to get the vial with the sleep potion in.

Edalyn slowly started to weaken, the furious thrashing around slowly becoming gentle twitches, until she finally fell asleep. Lilith closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, on all its fast paced, redemption-starting glory! Leave a kudo if you liked it and all that jazz, also feedback is very much appreciated cause I feel this one is REALLY weak and I wanna make the next chapter better lol.


	4. Moment of Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who remembered that sleeping spells are a thing, actually, and the whole giving Eda a vial was completely unneccessary lmao. Also buckle up 'cause this is a long one.

Belos’ castle stood tall in front of them, the giant pit surrounding the fortress cast in the shadows of the titanic ribs of the Titan’s skeleton. Gus couldn’t help but look down, however the sheer vertigo made him quickly stumble backwards. He looked behind him, the rest of the group was finishing up on their disguises. Willow was straightening her cape, and Amity was adjusting her helmet. Willow looked at him. “How do we look?”

Augustus scanned them up and down. “Pretty good actually! You had some high quality stuff, Amity!” The green haired witch smirked with pride, then inspected Gus. “You sure you can use your illusion magic to make yourself look taller?” The younger witch grinned. “Pfft, of course. There’s a reason I skipped two whole years!”

Willow smiled at him, then looked at her side. Her smile dropped. “Wait, where’s Luz?”. Amity’s eyes widened in panic, and she started to frantically spin, inspecting every corner until she stopped with a sigh of relief, the human was sitting under a tree nearby, already in full armor. Willow raised an eyebrow at her… extreme concern, but didn’t say anything and walked over to Amity instead.

“Maybe you should check on her”. Amity’s cheeks turned red for a brief moment, ears perking up, then nodded “Y-yeah, maybe I should” And with that, the Blight walked over to Luz, under the curious gaze of the other two witchlings. 

“Luz? You okay there?”. The human looked up at her, her face pretty much obscured in its entirety by the helmet.

“This was a terrible idea.” Amity looked at her, concern quickly appearing in her face. “What if something goes wrong? What if they capture me? What if they capture Willow, or Gus?” Luz looked down. “What if they capture you?” The human singling her out certainly didn’t help with the blush slowly creeping up on the witch’s face. “What if… What if Eda is…”

Amity quickly squatted, and held Luz’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me.” The latina slowly turned to look at Amity. “Eda is fine and they won’t capture any of us. We can do this together.” Luz averted her gaze. “But…” 

“But nothing, come on. Repeat after me: we can do this together”, Amity told her, echoing what Luz had said when they fixed Willow’s memories, albeit a bit adapted for the situation. She saw Luz quickly raising her hand and sweeping it under her helmet. Was she crying?

“We… We can do this, together” The human said, quietly.

“Good, now get up and let’s get going. Willow is ready to create the vine bridge.” Amity smiled at Luz before extending her hand. Luz smiled back at her and gently took it, getting up from the ground. A hoot called from the trees as Owlbert slowly glided down to Luz and landed on her shoulder. The human chuckled and raised her right arm, allowing the palisman to swiftly jump down and be tucked against Luz’s side like he was a high schooler’s notebook..

“You guys ready?” Asked Willow. Gus quickly drew a spell circle, adding a few inches to his height. Then he nodded along with Amity and Luz. The Plant Coven witch looked at the pit before her before slamming her hands on the ground, two large vines sprouting from the cliffside and connecting the spot where they were standing with one of the castle’s less guarded balconies. 

The group quickly hopped on the makeshift bridge and crossed it as fast as they could, landing on the balcony before anyone saw them, at least so they hoped. The bridge quickly rotted away, the withered remains blown away by the wind. “Okay, from now on no talking.” Amity said, looking at the other three. “Luz will lead the way, I’ll go second, Gus third and Willow last. If anything happens before we get Eda.” She zoned in on Gus “You know what to do.”

The younger witch nodded, and the four kids finally entered the castle. The halls were wide and shined with a golden tint, a few guards marched along, dead silent. Amity looked around her, completely awestruck, it was the place she had dreamed to join for her entire childhood, and she was there. A hand on her shoulder made her snap out of her thoughts, and a quick glance at who the owner was made her face flash red for a second. “You okay there?” Luz whispered.

“Yeah, let’s get going.” The human nodded, and the four marched on. Luckily the guards didn’t seem to question their mission, and so Owlbert guided the group to the catacombs, quietly hooting at the human to indicate what hall to take. The four finally reached the staircase leading to where Eda was being held, Luz looked down the stairs and took a deep breath, then looked back at Gus and Willow. The two witchlings nodded and walked downstairs, leaving Amity and Luz behind.

Luz sighed, she was shaking, doubt flooding her mind. And Amity noticed. “Hey, we’re almost there.” This time it was Amity putting her hand on Luz’s shoulder. “We’ll get her out of here, then I’ll try to pull some strings to get the cure. I promise”

The human looked at Amity and chuckled. “Aren’t you only 14? How are you gonna pull anything?”

Amity gave her a sly grin. “A Blight never reveals her secrets”. Both teens giggled a bit. “You going soft on me, Blight?”

“I may be.” The witch answered. Then they both heard footsteps, which quickly forced them to bolt against the walls and pretend to be guards. Two of the Coven’s soldiers walked up, which meant Willow and Gus had convinced them to ‘change shifts’. It was their chance. Luz quickly swept her cape to the side, letting Owlbert go and fly away, they wouldn’t need him anymore, then they both went downstairs, down to the deepest gate. There they found Willow and Gus standing perfectly still on the gate’s sides. They nodded at Luz and Amity, who nodded back and went inside.

The creatures inside started hissing and roaring at them, but the place was too dark to see, which prompted Luz to get one of her light glyphs. The pair rushed to the cage holding Eda, but Luz stopped before reaching the bars. Was she ready to see her mentor like that again? “I-”

“It’s okay, I’ll get her out with an abomination. It sounds like she’s asleep.” Luz looked at Amity, and gave her a shy smile. “Thanks.” The Blight was incredibly grateful for the darkness and her helmet, otherwise Luz would’ve seen how cartoonishly red she had turned. The Blight then turned around, and with a quick spell circle invoked an abomination big enough to carry Eda. “Abomination, get Eda.”

The golem groaned before breaking the cage’s lock with a surprisingly accurate punch, then gently picked up the sleeping Owl Beast. The abomination walked out of the cell and moaned at Amity.

“Alright, let’s go back with the others.” However, before the witch could take another step Luz stopped her. “Wait, let me just…” The human then walked over to the sleeping Eda, and gently stroked her mane. “Lo siento, Eda.” She then turned to Amity with a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s go.” The witch was staring at her, completely awestruck. She had never heard Luz speak in Spanish. “Was that… a spell?” Amity managed to ask.

“An apology. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” Amity nodded, and both made their way back to the gate. Two knocks were answered with a single knock, coast was clear. The wooden door opened, Willow and Gus looking at Eda in shock for a second. The abomination gently put Eda on the ground, and then disappeared into a mud puddle.

Willow and Gus took this as their cue, as some nuts Willow was carrying turned into magic vines to bind Eda, which turned invisible after a quick spell from Gus. Then the young witch drew another spell circle, probably lifting Eda off the ground.

“You sure you can do all these spells at once?” Willow asked.

“Pfft yeah, easy. Now let’s go.” And so, the four kids quickly walked up the stairs. And for a while, all went smoothly, they were almost the gates when a guard called them with a “hey!”. The four froze on their tracks, as the Coven’s soldier walked towards them. “What are you doing here? Steve’s squad was supposed to patrol this section today.” The guard leaned in closer at Willow. “Come to think of it, this helmet looks off. Like it’s made of…”

Before he could even finish his sentence the man was frozen in ice against the wall, only his head sticking out for breathing. Luz had used a glyph. “Let’s go, now!”. The ragtag rescue group quickly rushed down the hall, but it was too late. The guards had heard the commotion, and first thing they knew they were surrounded by what felt like a sea of the soldiers. The four kids instinctively stuck their backs together so they were all facing the guards, and Eda became visible as Gus focused on their new situation.

Willow quickly summoned large vines that swept away some of the guards and Gus tried to keep them distracted with his illusions. But what really surprised Luz was Amity. The green haired witch simply grinned, did a quick spell circle with her finger and got in a fighting stance, shifting sideways so her right shoulder was facing the guards. Then, an abomination rose behind her, and with a simple pointing finger from its master the golem threw a flurry of punches on the guards. The fists sped by the girl’s helmet, barely missing her head with uncanny precision and speed.

However, the kids’ advantage didn’t last for long, as the guards quickly recomposed themselves after the initial attack and started closing in. They were simply too many, and too experienced, they wouldn’t make it. Luz had failed Eda, again.

Then a blinding flash of blue. The guards were gone, all of them clumped together against a wall, unconscious. Lilith had taken their place right in front of Luz, panting like she had just run a marathon. The adult witch then turned around, facing Luz. The human looked confused, but readied a fire glyph.

“We don’t have much time, more guards are coming this way.” Lilith told her. Wait, what? “I see you actually managed to take Edalyn, huh? She really is your mentor.” She continued, dropping a brief smile. Lilith then drew a spell circle, materializing a large bottle. “Take this, Belos said this would heal Edalyn’s curse. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s our best chance.”

Luz simply stared, practically frozen in confusion, trying to process the situation. Was Lilith helping them now? “How do I know I can trust you?”

Lilith winced and looked at Eda. “You don’t. But Edalyn is my younger sister, it’s time I act accordingly.” She looked back at Luz. “The sleep potion I gave her should keep her down for a few more hours, but I don’t know how much it’ll keep Belos at bay. He could awake at any moment. I’m begging you, take this and go. I’ll hold the guards off.” Luz hesitated, but she finally grabbed the bottle.

Lilith nodded as a thank you, then looked at the other three until finally recognizing her protegeé, who was staring at Lilith with an even more conflicted face than Luz. “You made the right choice, Amity.” The Clawthorne then turned around, waiting for the guards to arrive. “Tell Edalyn that I’m sorry, and that she was right. About everything. Now go!

The teens hesitated, but the sound of boots approaching made them decide to book it. The last they saw of Lilith was the witch drawing a gigantic spell circle as the first guards arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I plan to add so many moments between Luz and Amity? No. Do I regret it? Also no. Anyways, hope you like it!


	5. Consequences

“I really thought more highly of you than this, Lilith. I really did.” Belos said. He was sitting on his throne, frozen like a statue, his golden mask reflecting the light coming from the room’s torches. “Your duel with the Owl Lady was simply breathtaking. Amazing. And cunning. It reminded me of why you were the head of the Coven.”

Lilith was kneeling in front of him, not even daring to look at him. His calm and unemotional demeanor was unnerving, to say the least. Like he was going to snap at any second. Belos sighed, and the woman’s heart skipped a beat.

“And yet, this is how everything turns out, hm?”. Belos rose up from his throne, and slowly walked over to Lilith. She felt tears start dwelling up on her eyes. Was this it? Was this how it was going to end?

“Not only did you wilfully ignore the incursion of intruders in the castle.” Belos was now towering by her side. She felt like she could faint at any second. He started walking around her, like a scavenger waiting for an animal to finally collapse and feast. “You gave me a sleep potion so I wouldn’t notice, you freed the Owl Lady’s palisman so it could guide the intruders, you helped the intruders escape with your sister, you stole the healing potion from my private collection and then you made the guards forget the intruders’ faces with a memory spell.”

The Emperor clenched his fist, the Titan’s heart started beating faster. “I assume you realize that your acts were of the highest kind of treason. And you know the consequences for this.”

Lilith swallowed, barely keeping herself together. A cold sweat slowly fell down her face. “I- I do, my liege… Petrification”

Belos nodded. “Yes, petrification. I should have you petrified right away.” The golden helmet zeroed in on her like a bird of prey, the dark pits where the eyes laid staring deep into her soul. She still didn’t dare look at him, but she felt his gaze like piercing daggers on her back. “But...”

Lilith’s head snapped right up, looking at Belos in shock. “...You have proven to be of great use to me and the Coven for many years. And both me and the Titan are merciful.” Belos slowly walked over to Lilith, still on her knees. “You are hereby banished from the Emperor's Coven, and you shall never be allowed in any other coven, no matter the kind. The very second you take a step out of this castle, you shall be considered nothing but a fugitive. Another wild witch for the wanted posters, like your sister.” 

Lilith could feel the sheer venom in Belos’ voice. He was enjoying it. He extended his left hand, and the mechanical looking staff was instantly summoned. “Oh, and one more thing.”

Before Lilith could react, she felt the staff’s red glowing orb on her head. “You shall be stripped of your magic. Forever.” Then the orb gave off a flash of red light, and she felt like a lightning bolt had shot through her entire body. She screamed in pain and bent over, barely throwing her arms on the ground to stop her fall. Then she felt a sharp pain in her chest, around the place where her heart was.

Belos simply stared at her, waiting. After a couple of minutes Lilith’s staff materialized on his free hand, then he tossed it next to its owner. “Now get out of my sight before I regret my decision.” Lilith quickly grasped her staff and used it to stand up. She was still shaking, and under normal circumstances there’s now way she’d be able to move in that state. But Belos’ gaze activated a primal instinct of flight or fight, and next thing she knew she was desperately flying away on her staff.

Belos watched her barely get out of the room like a terrified animal, then sighed. He walked back to his throne and sank on it. “My liege?” Belos turned to the voice. Kikimora. Her eyes were filled with doubt. “Worry not Kikimora, without her magic she’s harmless. She barely managed to walk out.”

“But my liege, what of the portal to the human world? We couldn’t find it anywhere on the Owl Lady, and now she’s out our grasp”

Belos simply sighed, resting his head on his right hand. “That is indeed a setback. But, again, worry not. I will make sure to keep the Owl House under our watch. We will have the portal in no time.”

As he said this, a cloaked figure with an owl mask walked up from the shadows. Belos looked at them and simply nodded. The figure nodded back, and walked out. “We will have it by the Day of Unity.”

* * *

Her eyelids were heavy. How long had she been asleep? Wait, she hadn’t been asleep, had she. Memories slowly started to creep up on her mind. Then she started to remember more clearly as the voices of her past came back to her. 

_ Stop! You will run out of magic! _

_ Thank you, for being in my life. _

_ Eda! _

_ Then why were you so easy to curse! _

Eda’s eyes opened wide and she sat down, gasping for air. She looked around, terrified. She was… at home. In her nest. Had it all been a dream? No, that couldn’t be it, those memories were way too livid. And she felt weird.

“Eda!” A voice cried out, and she suddenly felt something wrapping around her chest, barely allowing her to breathe. The witch looked down, and saw Luz. The human was hugging her so tight they might as well have been fused, and she was crying. Wait, Luz? Crying?

“Hey kid.” Eda managed to wheeze out. “I can’t breathe”

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” Luz pulled back, and her mentor finally got some air. “So. Mind explaining what’s goin’ on?” Eda pinched the bridge of her nose. “I feel like I’ve been struck by a cart.”

Luz nodded and quickly started explaining away, going all the way back to Eda’s capture., how Amity and the others offered to help her, how they came up with the plan, how they snuck into Belos’ castle, how they fought their way out…

“Wait, wait. You telling me that four teens, one of them a BLIGHT at that, organized a breakout and somehow came out of it not only  _ alive _ , but  _ successful _ ?!” Eda’s eyes had a mix of disbelief and pride in them. Her pupil had actually broken into the Emperor’s Castle in just a month, that was pretty impressive, she had to give Luz credit for that.

“Well… not exactly. We kinda had some help” Luz answered, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Huh? Really? From who?” Eda raised an eyebrow. Who in the Boiling Isles would dare defy the Emperor’s will and help some kids free the most wanted criminal alive?

“...Lilith.” Eda’s eyes opened wide in shock. Had she heard right? Lilith?

“Lily helped you break me out?!”

Luz nodded “When we were surrounded by the guards she showed up and gave us enough time to get out of the castle.” The girl then picked up an empty bottle from Eda’s cabinet. “She also gave us this.” Eda quickly snapped the container out of Luz’s hands and inspected it. 

“This is…” She felt her eyes getting watery. Was this really it?

Luz gave her a smile. “Lilith said it was the cure. I didn’t really trust her but…” Suddenly it was Luz getting pulled into a hug. The girl froze as she felt her mentor lifting her up and hugging her for a few solid seconds, before finally putting her down. Eda the wiped some tears that had formed on her eyes and put a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Kid, you really are one of a kind.” A motherly smile grew on the witch’s face. “Thank you, Luz.

Luz simply smiled, shyly looking away. Although it might have been to hide her own crying “Hey, we are family right? That’s what family does.”

Eda smiled, then she realized something. “Speakin’ of family, where’s King?”

“Oh, he’s sleeping. He spent the entire night here with you, he claimed he was guarding you so you wouldn’t be taken again but I saw him curled around your feet.”

“Wait for how long have I-” Before Eda could finish her sentence the two heard some commotion outside. Hooty had caught an intruder, but what really caught them off guard was the voice of said intruder.

“Put me down you demonic bird tube!” Lilith? Eda rushed out of the room, barely hearing Luz asking her to wait up. The witch ran down the stairs, barely avoiding tripping and falling down, and got to the living room. King had been sleeping on the couch, but Eda’s footsteps woke him up.

“Eda! You’re back!” He cheerfully said, jumping off. Eda gave him a smirk. “Just a second.” And so, Eda opened the door to King’s confusion. And neither was ready for the scene they were about to witness.

Hooty had wrapped himself around Lilith like a snake, lifting her off the ground. The witch was kicking the air and incoherently ranting about something while moving her right index finger in circles to no avail. The house demon looked at Eda. “Hi Eda! Look, I found a friend, hoot hoot!”

“I swear to the Titan if you don’t let me go this very instant!”

Eda snorted and slowly shook her head with a grin. “It’s okay Hooty, let her go.” And so, Lilith was dropped down with a yelp. The older Clawthorne groaned, slowly getting up and spitting some brown feathers. Lilith then looked at her sister, who was staring at her with a cold gaze that made a shiver run down her spine.

“Look who showed up. Trying to kidnap me? Again?”

Lilith winced and looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. “Edalyn, I-” Before she could finish her speech was interrupted by Eda’s laughter. Lilith turned to Eda again, eyes open wide in surprise.

“Oh sis, you’re so gullible sometimes.” Eda said with a grin, then put a hand on Lilith’s shoulder. “I know what you did back at the castle, Luz told me everything.” She gave her sister a light punch on Lilith’s arm with the shoulder hand. “I knew you’d come around.”

Eda then took a step back and raised an eyebrow. “So, how did you manage to escape?”

“I… I didn’t.” Eda gave her a questioning look. Lilith sighed. “He has vanished me from the Coven system and…” She lifted her finger, and drew a spell circle. Nothing happened. “He got rid of my magic. I had nowhere to go so I had hoped that maybe you could put the past behind us and let me live here with you…”

Eda frowned. “Put the past behind us? Lily, you cursed me when I was a child! You used my dau-” Eda stopped herself and cleared her throat. “...My protégéé as bait to kidnap me!” Lilith looked at her feet with a sigh. “I can’t just… forget that! But....” Lilith looked at her younger sister. “I can forgive. You did save me AND cure me after all, didn’t ya?” Eda gave Lilith a smile.

Lilith smiled back. “Thank you. I know we’ve been at odds for years but… I do hope we can finally start making amends, sister.”

A high pitched squeal caught the sisters’ attention. They turned around, only to see Luz staring at them with a huge smile, bouncing like a little child. “Oh my gosh reunited family!” The human screamed, and quickly ran up to the witches, pulling them into a hug. Lilith looked at Eda with a raised eyebrow, and her sister snorted.

“You’ll get used to this.”

Luz suddenly looked up at Lilith, a stern look on her face that made Lilith wince in surprise. “Don’t think this means you’re fully forgiven tho.”

“Don’t worry kid, I’ve already thought of a punishment.” Eda gave Lilith a grin that made the older Clawthorne’s blood freeze. “You’re gonna be cleanin’ Hooty for a month. At least.”

“What?!”

Hooty’s face slowly creeped on Lilith’s “A washy buddy! Oh this is going to be awesome! Hoot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, the fic is done! Honestly I never expected this to take off the way it did, it was originally gonna be a one shot before I decided to add some background to the rescue and the aftermath. Many thanks to everyone who read this and left a kudo, I'm really glad you guys enjoyed it! Who knows, I may end up writing some other stuff in this AU (I guess it's technically an AU after the season finale?).


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